Wrapped in Rescue

From the book Praise Habit:

"*To follow Jesus doesn't remove us from the stuff of life. It is not resolution. It is tension and journey. First John 2:6 states, "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did" (NIV). Jesus was in the world, engaged, alive, involved, making a difference. To follow Him, we must do the same. His prayer for us in John 17 is "Not that you take them out of the world . . . " and "As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world" (verses 15, 18, NIV). This is what God has done for us. He has come into our condition. He has come to bring us back. He has come and embraced us. He has come and covered us in Himself. Watch this Christ. Watch as He is accused of being a drunkard, of associating with tax collectors. Watch as He brings healing to the afflicted, love to the prostitutes, forgiveness to sinners. Watch as He climbs the hill bearing His destruction on His back. Watch as blood and water flow. Watch as salvation comes to us all. Watch as glory ascends to come again. Watch and fall in love with a God who does not resolve, whose rescue is never-ending. Whose prayer is that you would be that rescue. Who sends you to be that rescue. Be courageous. Even as you stand there hiding in the bushes, shaking to the bottom of your toes, frightened of what's to follow, what consequences will come of it, know that evil will not prevail. That you are not alone. That you bring the kingdom of God and there is hope. There is hope always. And others will walk out of dark places and see you standing there, arms outstretched, given completely to this hope. . . .

*We are to be rescue. We are to be redemption. We are to carry the story of God to the ones waiting. To the ones with their hands on their chest, begging you to notice that things aren't right. And this is praise. You are the note sounding in a thousand different rooms. There are chords and reflective surfaces around you. There is context. . . .

*Can you feel the fabric of your skin? It is woven from the threads of love. Pay attention to the way it folds around you, sense its softness, brush the hair of your arms as you lift them toward the heavens in unencumbered declaration.

*It is the coverings of rescue you feel. It is a flood. It is an ocean. It is a sea that has no bottom, for there is no end to it. To be fully present in the rescue and recreation of Christ is to embrace what God does for us, and this is the best thing we can do for Him."

This book is a worthwhile read. Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, talks about being "covered with the dust of our Rabbi." He tells how, in Jesus' time, a disciple followed his rabbi everywhere, all day long, every day. Not a moment passed by that he wasn't on the lookout for a moment of truth revealed in his rabbi's life or words. By the end of the day, after walking everywhere with his teacher, a disciple would literally be covered with the dust of his rabbi.

"Praise Habit" helped me to be covered with the dust of my Rabbi. You can pick up your own copy here.